Gianni Rivera is one of the most iconic characters from the Milan pantheon and perhaps the first true bandiera that the Rossoneri could boast. The Azzurri international played for 19 seasons (!) at Milan – basically his entire career save for a couple of years spent with his youth club Alessandria.
He is also one of the few players to have ever scored a haul – four goals in the same game – for Milan. It happened on November 2, 1996, when Rivera dismantled Serie B club Modena in a Coppa Italia Second Round matchup.
Although Milan won 5-2, the game was not exactly a walk in the park for coach Arturo Silvestri’s side. Modena took the lead twice, and in both occasions Rivera had to equalize for the Rossoneri. His second goal came from the penalty spot when there were only five minutes left on the clock.
Since the game was single-legged, it took extra times to determine who would advance to the next stage. After Giovanni Lodetti scored Milan’s third goal, Rivera found the back of the net twice more to set the score at 5-2.
Milan would go on to win the Coppa Italia that season, beating Padova 1-0 in the Final with a lone goal from Brazilian striker Amarildo.
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